The State Department on Monday removed an NPR reporter from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s upcoming trip abroad after a dayslong spat with a different NPR reporter, who said Pompeo berated her and cursed after an interview.
The State Department Correspondents’ Association confirmed the decision to remove NPR correspondent Michele Kelemen from Pompeo’s plane on his upcoming trip to Europe and Central Asia, calling the move ” retaliation “after Pompeo’s public attack on NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly.
” The removal of Michele, who was in rotation as the radio pool reporter, comes days after Secretary Pompeo harshly criticized the work of an NPR host. We can only conclude that the State Department is retaliating against National Public Radio as a result of this exchange, “Shaun Tandon, the association’s president, said in a statement.
The State Department did not give Kelemen a reason she would not be traveling, a spokesperson for NPR said.
Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.
Kelly said Friday that Pompeo lashed out at her after she pressed him on why he hasn’t defended Marie Yovanovitch, who was removed as the US ambassador to Ukraine by President Donald Trump last year and has been a central figure in his impeachment.
Kelly also said Pompeo asked his aides to bring him a map without country names marked and asked her to identify Ukraine, which she said she did correctly.
(Download the NBC News app for breaking news
Pompeo, who claimed he agreed to talk only about Iran, attacked Kelly on Saturday , claiming “she lied to me” about the interview topics and about their private encounter after the interview being off the record, describing her actions as “shameful.” Kelly has said she never agreed to talk off the record.
Pompeo did not challenge the details of Kelly’s claims about his statements or demeanor during their conversation. NPR released the full, unedited interview with Pompeo on Friday.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings